Pieces to the Jigsaw Puzzle
by ESHonoredPride
Summary: SxRxC,HxK,CxA The cure is close to completion.Ran is dealing with Shinichi's absence best she can.Kogorou seems to be getting better.But why does Conan keep seeing Gin and the rest of BO skulking around?Have they uncovered his secret, and if so what next?
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer:**_Obviously do not own Case Closed / Detective Conan. If I did, Shinichi's secret would be revealed to all! Bwuhaha! And Black Organization would adopt him as their own, and teach him the ways of evil:D And Gin(Yes, I love Gin. Hes so wickedly insane) would regard him as a brother, and let chibi-Conan comb his long, glossy blond hair for hours on end in front of the vanity mirror with a seashell comb... (sighs) But alas, one can only dream, ne?

* * *

_**Pieces to the Jigsaw Puzzle**_

Prologue

_Where are you...?_

The man shifted slightly in the smooth leather seat of the black Porsche with tinted windows, a movement of calm impatience that didn't suit the bestial hunger burning within him. Tapping idly on the end of a cigarette, he rolled the tinted-windows down to shower the ashes on the sidewalk from his parked position next to the still school, as he thumbed through the thick clasp of documents. His eyes raked over the papers almost hungrily, almost indecently. As if something that man wanted very much was stored in those thin sheets, a prize beyond all others... Cruel, cold eyes, polished with sadism to give it a harsh, empty light to reflect the monster trapped in man's flesh buried within him. Those beast's eyes scanned a list of names, of information none of which particularly struck him. No hint of discouragment wrought his sharp features. On the contrary, he seemed to grow more eager for something as he flipped through the papers. No one, nothing would stop his mission. He had a job to do, he would do it, he would find _him_. Once he'd failed. Twice, maybe more times, this boy evaded his grip and taunted him by his freedom. A freedom that said he hadn't done his job. A job supposed to happen in the amusement park's shadowed twilight grounds, when the man had unknowingly given him life. How ironic. He'd aimed to kill the boy with the very same pills that gave him this narrow, unpremeditated escape. In a way, it was his fault the boy still lived.

A disturbing thought. Actually _helping _an enemy. The man almost shuddered, as if to repell a bothersome fly. His fingers tapped absently on the thin white cigarette still heated reddish at the end, sending a sprinkle of ashes onto the sidewalk curb. He smiled strangely and his eyes zeroed onto the school building. It was night now. The target, whoever he masqueraded as, was no longer there and wouldn't be until morning. Still... He felt a strange connection between these grounds. The same earth his target walked on with his cowardly feet everyday, for the boy was too afraid to confront them openly, he was sure. Somewhere in the stampede of prints pressed into the soft yet firm earth his partner had trodged off to to find more records, certain, undistinguishable tracks were different from the others. Tracks of a late teenager encased in an adolescent's body. A lie. He was fake, from his appearence to his words, to his breaths to everything about him. The man knew this about him. He'd studied the boy's former life, as brilliant detective Kudou Shinichi. Learned about him. Obsessed over him, the others might say, for he'd never let a victim live before, even if it was unintentional. Well, he would have to right that once he found this Kudou, correct? First some interrogation as to the traitor Sherry

_(Shiho's)_

whereabouts. Some fun with the one who lived, push him into a nightmaric hell with no return, only death, punishing him until death seemed truly a blessing in comparison. Perhaps he'd grant it, maybe he wouldn't; Depended on his mood, whether he wanted a screaming human to toy with the next day or not. Hm. A small smile, more predatory than joyful, twitched at the corners of his thin lips. Making Kudou suffer did sound fun. It depended whether or not the Boss would allow him to have his fun or if he wanted the effects of the drug studied. If not, the man knew, with a flicker of pleasure, custody of the boy would be surrended to him.

And if he didn't break under interrogation for Sherry, the man would up the torture a little. Until the "detective", whatever face he now wore(the man cursed himself for not being able to remember the boy's face, it would make this so much easier) told him everything just to end the pain. And maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't. Red was his favorite color; He found it charming bathing any body he encountered. He was eager to see the color of red on this Kodou child.

Gin of the Black Organization allowed a casual, cruel smile, still tapping his cigarette patiently as he waited, thumbing the records with growing anticipation for the encounter sure to come. Faces blurred, names smeared before his eyes, rearranging themselves in the kanji for _his _name, the face of Kodou. The boy smirked at him, a sneer, mocking Gin's obsession.

_"Tch. The worst they have is you? You couldn't even kill me the first time, and I was uncounscious."_

Fingers tightened over the slim cigarette until it crumpled neatly in his grip, leaking hot ash on his digits. Gin stared idly at his fingers. The boy's imagined words, whispered in a hatefully smug voice, rang in his ears. He tossed the crumpled cigarette on the sidewalk and reached for a new packet, jabbing a new white thinness between his tight lips, thumb pressing harder than need be on the lighter switch until a small flame swirled to life. Gin touched it to the end of his cigarette, feeling the familiar choke of thick smoke cloud his throat, until he calmly released it in a whoosh of air. Sprials of blue-grey smoke faded into the sky. Gin watched.

_Detective... I will find you,_ he promised the nonresponding smoke circles, lazy in the air. The thought was filled with nothing but sadistic malice, and deadly earnest. _I swear I'll find you, just to hear your screams..._

As Vodka climbed in beside him, Gin's hands wrapped around the steering wheel, foot gently ushering his beloved Porsche forward. It ran smoothly, stealthily along the gravel road. Ready for the hunt as it's master. A rare spark lit Gin's eyes, a mad glint of challenge. Vodka quietly shuffled the stolen papers. A strange name with clippings of pictures and thin information popped at him. He scanned it, nodded once. "Aniki." Gin looked at his partener. A portfolio with kanjis emblazoned on it was promptly offered to him. He studied it appraisingly.

_"Edogawa, Conan"_

_"Lives with Mori family, parent status overseas"_

First two lines of information, nothing extraordinary except the odd name. What made Gin study it so intently was the picture. A seven-year-old boy gave him a nervous, white-toothed smile, black hair spilling over his thick-rimmed glasses, which hid deep blue eyes. Something jolted his stomach. Deja vu. He knew this face. The smile broadened. Vodka's own grew, stretching his lips in a curved grin of malice.

Without a word or sign, they drove off. Overhead, the moon glowered, the stars twinkled in splotchy midnight sky.

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Short yes, but that was only to show Gin's(my favorite's :P) thoughts and what hes doing. Crazy little jackass. I still love him. So cool. Like Krad and Itachi, melded in one! (coughs) Anyway, the next will be alot longer, in Conan's POV and nothing very interesting!... Oops. 

Well, didja like it? Hate it? Want me to continue? How was it good / bad? What would you do for a Klondike bar? Why am I asking you these questions?

Review me friends. :D


	2. Entry 1: Her Reason

_**Disclaimer:**_Obviously do not own Case Closed / Detective Conan. If I did, Shinichi's secret would be revealed to all! Bwuhaha! And Black Organization would adopt him as their own, and teach him the ways of evil:D And Gin(Yes, I love Gin. Hes so wickedly insane) would regard him as a brother, and let chibi-Conan comb his long, glossy blond hair for hours on end in front of the vanity mirror with a seashell comb... (sighs) But alas, one can only dream, ne?

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_**Pieces to the Jigsaw Puzzle**_

Entry I: Her Reason

Her fingers tightened over the hard plastic of the black corded phone. She tilted back her head to keep tears from spilling down her cheeks, allowing the thick autumn-color of her long hair to flutter across her vision, flowing smoothly past her shoulders to her waist. Her tall, thin form was painfully straight in some attempt to fight off threatening sobs, silhouetted gracefully by the palely iced light of the frosty moon's full eye beaming coldly through the glass-pane window that reflected an ink-smeared sky with glinting stars dusted across it. Choppy bangs shadowed the normally sparkling glimmer of her amethyst-blue eyes that were framed with thick lashes, eyes closed tightly together to keep the acidic pools of liquid diamond from streaking her smooth cheeks, smokey lashes curled against her cheeks in long waves. Pale pink lips full and curved, trembled childishly against her natural instinct to cry the hurt away, drain the welling poison from her body by pouring them out her eyes. Her delicately beautiful features were shaken, pained, but she took in a deep breath to calm herself, slowly straightening the worrisome expression, her voice returning to her in a hoarse crackle like scraping of dead leaves on pavement, the veins in the back of her hand starting to buldge from her ivory-peach skin as her grip grew stronger on the phone, the anguish she was supressing released on the defenseless chunk of plastic, where she could hear her best friend's breathy, teasingly light voice chattering on about some soccer tournament he'd seen over the weekend(she remembered letting Conan watch that on TV too; he seemed estatic, like Shinichi was, that the visitors had won; Ran didn't know who the team was, she never really paid attention to the sport except to please a certain detective).

"Sh-Shinichi?"

A quiet, slightly crackily voice, as if the speaker was struggling against tears. Close to inaudible.

**"Ano, Ran?"**

Loud, confident. Brimming with confidence and arrogance. The first speaker couldn't help but smile, waterily, at his warm, somehow reassuring voice. Merely hearing it made him seem immortal. Nothing could touch the invincible, arrogant Kudou Shinichi. She didn't have to worry, but still--

"When are you coming home, Shinichi? For real, give me a straight answer for once."

**"..."**

"Shinichi?"

**"Ran..."**

"Kudou, dammit answer me!!"

A soft laugh came in static. Her face heated with flushed blood; Why did he like to embarass her so much? He always did, liked to embarass her with taunts and dirty jokes and leers, switching from the calm, thoughtfully undefeatable detective he was portayed as to the world, to an extemely perverted hormonal teen with a habit of claiming he need to search her panty drawer for a ransom note or something

(_Shinichi defensively held his hands up to his chest, palms facing a fuming Ran as he nervously tried to laugh it off, dicreetly trying to close the ransacked drawer where piles of underwear were tossed. He took a few steps back, eyeing his friend warily as the brunette stomped up with a dangerous glint steeling normally sweet blue-purple eyes. Her cheeks were stained crimson, her smooth brow pinched into folds in anger. "You were gone for thirteen hours Ran! I had to make sure you were safe, so I had to check to make sure-" Shinich tried pleading with no other alternative, seeing no way to safely escape the Mouri household from the boiling woman whose fists were clenched so tightly by her sides. __"What size cup my bra is?! I told you I was in a karate tournament Kudou!" Ran snapped heatedly. The pervert thought she'd be gone longer than a day; Tried to sneak a peek at her unmentionables. Her left eye convulsively twitched at the thought of what would have befallen her undergarments if she hadn't arrived. The strange image of Shinichi sitting on her bed, grinning toothily and flashing a proud peace sign as sexy lingerie rained about him in heaps landing on his head and lap couldn't be shaken from mind. It pissed her off even more. She had no doubt it might have happened, had he been offered the chance. __"Thats what the kidnapper could have forced you to say!" the poor detective now tried to argue but his heart wasn't in it. His pace retreated another step, to the window. Wary eyes followed Ran, wide and dialated as she suddenly smiled a tight-lipped, thin stretch of the mouth that seemed eerily similar to an insanely sadistic murderer's while they confess over a crime. "..." Shinichi blinked; Where had those chains come from? "... Eh, Ran, why are you looking at me like that?"_).

At the memory of Shinichi's punishment, even Ran had to snicker despite the situation she faced currently. A just sentence for such a heinous act. Admittedly, in the other's views, it may have seemed a tad harsh, but he _eventually _could use it again. At least, she thought. Thats what the doctor had said, but then again Ran didn't ask Shinichi about that specific area of his body. (1)

She sobered quickly at his quiet reply. **"Ran, I told you, I have no idea when I'll finish this case. It's really difficult, and--"**

"Liar."

His voice ceased abruptly, caught in a sharp intake of breath. She felt the familiar prickle of tears stinging her eyes. A hunch. A guess, but it'd paid off. She wished she hadn't guessed.

It hurt.

Something hardened in her throat, hard to swallow, hard to breath.

"Shinichi, what-"

**"I have to go Ran. Ja."**

"Kudou don't you dare-!"

Dial tone.

She stared blankly at the phone for a minute as if trying to comprehend what had happened. Had he just... Lied? And... Hung up on her? No. No way, even Kudou wasn't stupid enough to--

Minutes passed in silent comtemplation. Ran's eye began twitching again as it sank in. That little _punk_. A low growl sounded ferally from her mouth.

Conan snuck back in, unnoticed from his "visit to Ayumi's house", actually back from the payphone. He froze when he saw Ran. Her head lowered, hair curtained her face, anger radiated off her shaking, taunt form. She raised her head and Conan flinched in horror. Her usually sweet blue-purple eyes flamed, her features rigid, lips pulled into a grimace. The rest of her face was shadowed, making her appearence oddly sinister. She muttered unpleasant-sounding threats under her breath before stalking to the kitchen. The violent sound of butcher knife chopping through a poor carrot and thunking into wood of a cutting board made him wince. Harsh snarls of exactly what she'd do with the butcher knife when she saw Kudou again made his eyes widen and skin pale drastically, trying to skulk back to his room unnoticed.

"-This time, I'll _chop_ it off and feed it-"

A high-pitched squeak that could have been a mouse floated into the kitchen. Conan trembled against the wall he was flattened against and tip-toed to the guest room, his now-permanent residence. Was Ran PMSing? Even the great detective couldn't safely say, and wasn't eager to find out.

_I'll just... Stay away from her for a while. Cool her off before calling again,_ Shinichi thought, sweatdropping. The turned-adolesecent scratched the back of his head. He felt it was in his--As Shinchi, not Conan's-- best interest to remain unanimous for now.

Dusky sapphire eyes, thoughtful behind the thick rims of his glasses, focused on the ceiling as he flopped lazily down on his futon and folded his arms behind his head. Schoolwork had been, no pun intended, child's play. He finished it in under ten minutes and had spent the last fifty minutes of class idly willing the clock to speed up or exchanging bored glances with Haibara. No cases to solve he was aware of, with Kogorou slumped on the floor of the bathroom, steadily-emptying bottle of sake spreading on the formly clean white tiles in pools of liqour brown. His "friends" were at home, hastily trying to finish the simple assignment as Haibara was probably clicking around on Agasa's computer, Hattori Heiji was finishing a complicated case in Hawaii(so said the smugly proclaiming postcard Conan had received with an even tanner-skinned Heiji flashing a superior smirk at the camera and a bold thumbs up, other arm lazily thrown around a furiously blushing but pleased-looking, tanned darker Kazuha's shoulders, background a brilliant paste white of Hawaiian sand set against clear waves of the ocean and vibrant green leaves of palm trees). Conan groaned. So bored. Calling Ran was the only thing he'd set up today and had expected the call to last much longer, like usual, but...

"Conan-kun! Dinner!" Ran's harried voice carried through the small apartment like a dull roar. Knowing her mood certainly hadn't lifted, and uneager to anger her further, the chibi detective scrambled to the door and sped into the dining room. The unsturdy wooden table was laden with bowls of murky-looking stew, bits of sliced carrot and diced potato peeking at him and neatly cooked meat floating in the thick and richly spiced gravy. The smell was unbearable. Conan's stomach jolted painfully, reminding him of it's emptiness as he clutched at his abdomen, looking lustily at the food as he dove into a chair.

Even angry, Ran cooked better than anyone he knew, Conan reflected as he appeasingly shoveled the warm concoction down his throat. She watched him with a faint smile in the chair opposite, her hand supporting her chin. He flashed her a quick, grateful smile to sate her rage.

"It tastes good Ran-neechan!"

"Thanks."

_Why do you remind me of Shinichi, Conan-kun...?_

* * *

"Meh, whats for dinner?" grumbled the now-famous detective, Mouri Kogorou as he stumbled into the room, rubbing at the bags under his squinty eyes. Stubble from his unshaven chin roughened but didn't compliment his features, the hairs on his upper lip already thickening into a moustache. His wrinkled shirt was stained and pulled out off his pants, instead drooping rather sadly over his pants, the belt loops of which were empty, letting the originally steamed and pressed cream pants sag painfully around his narrow waist. Ever-constant alcohol poisoned his breath.

_A true role-model for young children everywhere,_ Conan sarcastically thought while rolling his eyes.

As if hearing his thoughts, Ran at once rose to vent on her father. "Tou-san, what are you doing? You're hung-over!" she accused, jabbing a finger at the blearily blinking man. _Wow Ran. You should take over being a detective instead of me. You could run your dad out of business for sure._ Conan clapped a hand over his mouth to hide the grin and when father and daughter turned to look at him, gave them an angelically confused look. "Ne?" he asked sweetly, in the childish tone he only seemed to adopt when Ran was around.

The brunette pointed at Conan this time with an infuriated look in her eye. "See? See the example you're setting for Conan!" she snapped, advancing on Kogorou rather like a tiger stalking an unsuspecting boar. "I bet he looks up to you as his father, and you're teaching him to drink alcohol and be a sexist pig!"

Conan suspected the last two words were directed at him, or at least Shinichi. He too remembered the underwear drawer incident. _It _still _throbs from that Ran._ If the girl had looked at him in that instant, he would have seen a glare directed at her and her infamous legs, which had been smashed right into his... Area. They'd been boots that day too.

_Me? Looking up to that guy? Please._ Conan thought of his own father and twitched at the unfortunate substitute wavering on his own feet in front of him, hiccuping with a glazed look in his eyes.

"What're you talkin' about?" Kogorou slightly slurred his words and fixed a glare on his daughter that wasn't exactly powerful. He decided more booze would help him and took a deep swig of the bottle of sake, drinking heartily despite Ran's protesting noises. More color bloomed in his high cheeks. A silly grin stretched across his thin face. "I'm Mogouri Kogorou, greatest detective in Japan! No, the world!" he declared drunkenly with a small, feminine giggle. "I'm the gre'st daddy evah!"

Both Ran and Conan coughed at the same instant. Coughs that sounded suspicously like, "Yeah right," and "Baka," if you listened closely enough.

"Come on Dad, go to sleep." Ran sighed in resignation, placing her hands on her father's shoulders and guiding him into his own room in the flat. Conan slurped down the rest of his now lukewarm stew noisly, hearing Kogorou's drunken giggles echoing and mingling with Ran's exasperated sighs through the small house. He was used to it by now. He could remember coming here as a kid, staying for dinner and watching the same thing occur, with Eri guiding Kogorou to bed and Ran eating with him in a half defiant silence.

_Nice to know some things never change. _Conan shook his head ruefully. Like he expected, when Ran came back so did the defiance in the quiet, as she sat down to eat dinner. Kogorou's heavy, rattling snores were the only pierce in the silence.

* * *

_"Shinichi... Conan... Which is it?" Ran hissed, her hand tangled in his messy jet black hair as she yanked him to his feet, nearly tearing chunks of his scalp out as she did. Like fire jolting the top of his head._

_"Ran... " he clawed at her hand, desperate for release. Her grip tightened, electing a small groan at the increase of pain spreading through his scalp. "Ran, please... Let me go!"_

_A cold laugh caused Conan's pupils to shrink as the hand roughly pulled his head back to look at Ran's face. Only it wasn't her face anymore. The delicate, sweetly shaped features were sharp and masculine, cruelly made. The wavy stream of auburn hair had grown unruly and wild, smashed under a black hat with only springing bangs peaking under the rim, was now a dirty blond in color. Her form had straightened and talled, grown more leanly muscled in a now black cloak. But the unforgettable eyes were what drew Conan_(Shinichi's?)_ attention. Cruel, cold, the gentle bluish-purple roughened to a dark jade, evil sparking the otherwise empty, hollow eyes._

_"R-Ran?"_

_"Good night, detective-san." The shiny barrel of a silver gun was pressed to his temple as Conan grew stiff in horror. _No... _He tried thrashing. His body didn't respond._

_"You will die, detective, but before that you'll wish you were dead." Gin said smoothly, puncturing his words with the sharp cock of his gun as he readied the trigger. Conan's eyes widened. The gun was aimed between his eyes to ensure a quick, unavoidable death. Gin's finger pulled the trigger in a fluid motion._

_A horrible, sharply burning pain piercing between his eyes and brain, then nothing._

BANG

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Dx Oh my. I apologize, that was a bunch of boring mush with nice descriptive words. Originally, I was going to end this with an awesome cliffhanger, then decided it was too early to do that so I settled on a boring-as-hell chapter. Forgive me! (shots self) The next will be better, promise. DX Btw, the end was just Conan's dream, felt like freaking you all out a little :)

(1) Can I make it much plainer what she injured? xD I feel sorry for Kodou-kun now. But he really shouldn't piss off a karate expert like Ran. Poor kid. xD

Prologue Review Replies:

**katiesparks:** Indeed. I hope you felt this was passable xD My first reviewer! (squeals and tackles)

**Mat49324:** Thank you! I'll probably look some of them up soon, since I have no life and am pathetic Dx

**Rani07:** :D It was nice because Gin was there, and Gin rocks. Simple. xD Thankies!

Thanks for reviewing! Next update comes soon!


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